Ramsey County
Report date
August 2018
What has been most instrumental to your progress?
During the first part of 2017 Ramsey County worked in partnership with Minnesota Recovery Connection (MRC) to develop a contract which allows for the provision of peer services in the Ramsey County Detoxification Center. This is significant as our service system needs to learn how to provide and integrate this emerging best practice within our continuum of care. The peer will also have the ability to work with other acute care settings, such as local hospitals. The goal of the services is to engage individuals in recovery oriented treatment or related activities, with the aim of both getting people the care that they need and reducing the need for the use of acute care resources. Peer services will be provided both on-site, as well as in the community. A portion of grant funds will be used to develop the associated best practices, procedures and policies that are needed for organizations to effectively integrate recovery coaching in substance use disorder treatment programs. Lessons learned will be applicable to the State roll out of additional Medicaid benefits and Substance Use Disorder Reform efforts.
Key lessons learned
Integrating new services into a continuum of care is a process which requires continuous communication and idea sharing across stakeholder groups. Forming shared definition and operational principles requires patience and dedication. It has also involved broader community education so that community leaders and consumers buy in and support development. Peer services have developed within both the mental health and chemical health care systems, so we are also needing to learn how to honor both traditions while also pushing for integrated service delivery. While there have not been failures, getting to the place were we are now able to offer direct services to individuals has taken us longer than we would have liked. These delays were related to systems needing to learn to operate in a new way to accommodate this type of service.
Reflections on inclusive, collaborative or resourceful problem-solving
Community collaboration has been the most significant portion of this work. We have had to work with providers, advocacy groups and others to design a workable model of care. Collaboration regarding training, hiring, and supervision have are all important aspects of integrating this service that honors the framework of peer delivered care within the constructs and licensing requirements of an acute care setting. Agency, staff, and community partner support for this shift has needed to be developed and this systems work has been just as important to the end product as the direct delivery of care.
Other key elements of Community Innovation
No.
Understanding the problem
When the need to build support for and integrate peer recovery coaching services into Detox was originally defined in the grant application we had a basic idea of the framework to be used. During this last reporting period we have built the shared understanding needed to move from theory to application. We anticipate that the model will continue to evolve as we learn from implementation.
If you could do it all over again...
Schedule routine meetings with all necessary stakeholders to help the process move along more quickly.
One last thought
We appreciate the opportunity to develop the peer recovery coach model within detox and other acute care settings. Learning how to do and sustain this work pushes our care delivery system promotes in the implementation of best practices in a manner that truly promotes empowerment of the recovery community.